About

About Kitasato University School of Medicine

Kitasato University School of Medicine (KUSM) was founded in 1970 as the first Japanese medical school built after World War II. Established in the wake of the student uprising that took place in Japanese universities at the end of the 1960s, KUSM introduced an innovative educational system that was a radical restructuring of the traditional medical school curriculum. This novel method combining general medical education, collaborative research, and patient care came to be known as the Kitasato System, and it had a strong influence on other academic institutions in Japan during the 1970s.
KUSM has 12 academic units in Basic Medical Sciences and 24 in Clinical Medical Sciences:

Basic Medical Sciences

Biochemistry, Department of Molecular Medicine

Molecular Genetics, Department of Molecular Medicine

Anatomy

Physiology

Infectious Diseases

Microbiology

Parasitology

Immunology

Pharmacology

Pathology

Legal Medicine

Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Clinical Medical Sciences

Gastroenterology

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Cardiology and Vascular Medicine

Respiratory Medicine

Rheumatology

Hematology

Nephrology

Neurology

General Surgery

Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Neurosurgery

Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

Orthopedic Surgery

Plastic Surgery

Urology

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Pediatrics

Dermatology

Ophthalmology

Psychiatry

Radiology

Anesthesiology

Emergency and Critical Care Medicine

Laboratory Medicine

About Kitasato University

Kitasato University was founded in 1962 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Kitasato Institute. The University initially consisted of one school and two departments, but now it comprises seven graduate schools, seven undergraduate schools, one college, three affiliated research institutes, and four hospitals.

Graduate Schools

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences

Marine Biosciences

Nursing

Science

Medical Sciences

Infection Control Sciences

Undergraduate Schools

Pharmacy

Veterinary Medicine

Medicine

Marine Biosciences

Nursing

Science

Allied Health Sciences

College

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Research Institutes

Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences

Oriental Medicine Research Center

Research Center for Clinical Pharmacology

Hospitals

Kitasato University Hospital

Kitasato University East Hospital

Kitasato University Kitasato Institute Hospital

Kitasato University Medical Center

Kitasato University has six campuses spread throughout Japan:

- Shirokane Campus in Tokyo

- Sagamihara Campus in Kanagawa

- Kitamoto Campus in Saitama

- Towada Campus in Aomori

- Sanriku Campus in Iwate

- Niigata Campus in Niigata

The University has its headquarters in Shirokane where the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences is based, but the major educational facility is located in Sagamihara. The Sagamihara Campus is home to the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, the School of Science, the School of Allied Health Sciences, the Center of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kitasato University Hospital, and Kitasato University East Hospital.

About The Kitasato Institute

The present Kitasato Institute was established in 2008 through the integration of the former Kitasato Institute and Kitasato University. It was originally founded in 1914 by Dr Shibasaburo Kitasato as Japan's first private medical research facility. Together with Germany's Robert Koch Institute and France's Pasteur Institute, The Kitasato Institute has become one of the world's top microbiology institutes. Headquartered in Shirokane, Tokyo where it was founded, the Institute administers Kitasato University as well as two vocational schools and two affiliated institutions. As Japan's only academic organisation to possess facilities for vaccine production, the Institute contributes to the eradication of infectious diseases and the improvement of public health.

About Shibasaburo Kitasato

Dr Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931) was a pioneering microbiologist whose research paved the way for numerous advances in preventive medicine, especially in the field of immunology. He was the first to successfully cultivate tetanus bacilli and develop the serum therapy to treat that disease. He also discovered the bacterium that causes bubonic plague.

1853

Born on 29 January in present-day Oguni, Kumamoto

1871

Enters Kumamoto Medical School and studies under Dr C. G. Mansvelt

1883

Graduates from the Faculty of Medicine of The University of Tokyo, and assumes a post at the Ministry of Home Affairs

1885

Departs to study in Germany by order of the Japanese government

1886

Studies bacteriology under Dr Robert Koch, the discoverer of tuberculosis bacilli, in Koch's laboratory at the University of Berlin

1889

Succeeds in producing a pure culture of tetanus bacilli

1890

Discovers antitoxic immunity against tetanus which leads to the development of serum therapy

1892

Returns from Germany and establishes the Institute for Infectious Diseases

1893

Establishes Tsukushigaoka Yojoen, the first tuberculosis hospital in Japan

1894

Is dispatched to Hong Kong, where he discovers the bubonic plague bacillus

1901

Is nominated for the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1914

Founds The Kitasato Institute for Infectious Diseases

1917

Establishes the School of Medicine of Keio University and serves as its dean